Interested in Alternative Medicine? Consult Your Doctors

There now is more interest than ever in integrative medicine, which combines nontraditional, or alternative, practices with conventional Western medicine. According to a 2007 National Institutes of Health study, approximately 38 percent of adults and nearly 12 percent of children under age 18 had used some kind of complementary or alternative medicine. There is also growing interest in the scientific community in the effectiveness of holistic traditions practiced in other countries, and how these therapies may be used alongside conventional medicine for greater effectiveness.

When practiced correctly, I believe that there can be real benefits for some brain disease patients who choose to incorporate integrative medicine into their treatments or use them for general wellbeing. The diagnosis of a brain disease can be devastating. Including alternative therapies can help patients deal with the emotional and physical implications of these disorders.

Examples of Integrative Medicine and Alternative Treatments

Integrative medicine relies not only on the body and its outward expressions of health conditions, but on the mind and spirit as well. There are a wide variety of alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, biofeedback, nutrition counseling, herbal treatments, homeopathy, massage therapy, reflexology, hypnotherapy, and meditation.

My patients and I fight brain tumor battles on a daily basis. The drugs and technology available to us to wage these battles are incredibly advanced and, while effective at treating tumors, can be physically and mentally taxing on the patient. I believe that a broader mind-body approach – where we deal with not just the brain tumors and their symptoms, but the patients’ full physical and psychological states – is an important part of treatment and healing. I’ve seen significant success in employing alternative therapies as part of brain cancer treatment, and I educate my patients about the benefits of integrative medicine and discuss their options if they’re interested.

Communicate, Communicate

The key to successful integrative medicine is open communication. Be sure to tell your doctors about any nontraditional treatments you are using. Some alternative therapies, especially herbal medicines and homeopathic treatments, can cause bad drug interactions, and serious medical complications may arise; herbal medicines and homeopathic treatments should never be self-prescribed. The goal of integrative medicine is to combine different treatments to support health, and this should always be done under physician supervision; you don’t want to risk a setback.

If you’re interested in integrative medicine, do some research and find out what complementary and alternative practices have been shown in respected peer-reviewed medical journals to treat your particular health condition. Then ask your physician what he or she thinks. Your doctor can work with you to determine which alternative therapies may be beneficial for you.